THE BIRTH OF AN ANECDOTE

By Steve Martin

When I was 67, I knew I could make money by taking tourists by Judd Apatow’s house. I had been a big fan ever since his first movie, Young Adults, Gotta Love ’Em. One day I was driving the tour bus by Judd’s house, and I saw him making coffee in the kitchen. I just knew my tourists would love to get his autograph, so I drove them up his driveway and a few of them rang his doorbell. I suggested that others go around to the backyard. Judd finally came out and said, “What’s going on here?” It was funny the way he said it, but I could picture Seth Rogen or Jonah Hill saying it and making it really funny. Actually, I could see it becoming a movie, What’s Going On Here? Anyway, he signed everyone’s autograph book and posed for pictures, and then he took me aside and said he was going to end my banjo career. But now I have a great anecdote.

THE LONELY ISLAND

Jorma Taccone, Andy Samberg, Akiva Schaffer

I don’t understand how they fit so many jokes into each piece. Somehow they do hundreds of them, in quick succession, and they make their shorts in two or three days for almost no money. I burn through thousands of dollars for a decent line reading. When they made it to Saturday Night Live, in 2005 (Samberg as a performer-writer, Schaffer and Taccone as writers), they accomplished so much, whether it was “Lazy Sunday” or “Dick in a Box,” or the one with Pee-wee Herman on a rampage. Now that they’ve left S.N.L., it’s time for them to make a movie. I don’t need to produce it. I just want to see it. Although, sure, I’ll produce it. Call me: 310-774-1926.

FACES OF FUNNY

People always ask me who’s funny, and what TV shows I watch. Mindy Kaling (top right) is crazy funny, not only on classic episodes of The Office, but on her new show, The Mindy Project. Who doesn’t love Aubrey Plaza (top left) on Parks and Recreation, and she proved she’s a movie star in Safety Not Guaranteed. My daughters worship Zooey Deschanel (bottom right). We TiVo New Girl every week and watch it at 6:30 in the morning. Ben & Kate, which stars Dakota Johnson (bottom left), is one of our new favorites. I guess we need to get up at six A.M. now.

MURDER IN FUNNYTOWN

Tons of people are funny, but here are six truly inspired comics doing great work right now: Bo Burnham (as the photographer), Amy Schumer (as the widow), Chelsea Peretti (as the other woman), Reggie Watts (as the reporter), Hannibal Buress (as the laughing cop), and John Mulaney (as the murderee). I was going to explain what their acts are like, but invariably I would get it wrong and make them sound awful. They all have comedy albums available for download on iTunes. Give them your money. They have earned it.

MEL BROOKS AND CARL REINER

Nobody has made me laugh harder than these two guys. Their work is awe-inspiring: Blazing Saddles (Mel), The Dick Van Dyke Show (Carl), Young Frankenstein (Mel), The Jerk (Carl), The Producers (Mel), Oh, God! (Carl), The 2,000-Year-Old Man (Mel and Carl). I could tick off 70 other things they did that are riotously funny. They’re great writers, great actors, great comics, great directors. They’ve been making people laugh since Eisenhower was president, and they’re still at it. Mel has a beautiful box-set DVD collection out now, The Incredible Mel Brooks: An Irresistible Collection of Unhinged Comedy, and Carl has just published a charming memoir, I Remember Me. At the ages of 86 (Mel) and 90 (Carl), these two comedy giants are also best friends. Most nights they have takeout dinner and watch B movies together at Carl’s house. I hope that one day I will be involved in a friendship like that.

6/7

JIM CARREY

When I was a stand-up comedian, in the late 80s, I used to open for Jim Carrey on the road. I would do my lame act, and then he would come on and do the most energetic, inventive, uproarious set I had ever witnessed. I retired from performing as a result. He was and is the funniest man on earth. This is something we can all agree on. We can debate No. 2 forever, but Jim will always be the king.

7/7

WILL FERRELL

Will makes me laugh. Hard. Last week we did a table read of Anchorman 2—written by Will and his longtime writing partner, Adam McKay—out loud for a group of friends, and the laughs were so big for the first hour that we all got exhausted. People were truly losing it. Pants may have been shat. As excited as I am for the movie, that live show is something I’ll never forget.